Radio frequency silicon on insulator wafer platform with superior performance, stability, and manufacturability

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor-on-insulator (e.g., silicon-on-insulator) structure having superior radio frequency device performance, and a method of preparing such a structure, is provided by utilizing a single crystal silicon handle wafer sliced from a float zone grown single crystal silicon ingot.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/452,762, which was filed Jun. 26, 2019, the disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in its entirety. U.S.application Ser. No. 16/452,762 claims the benefit of priority to U.S.provisional Application Ser. No. 62/697,474, which was filed Jul. 13,2018, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference as ifset forth in its entirety.

THE FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the field of semiconductorwafer manufacture. More specifically, the present invention relates to amethod of preparing a semiconductor-on-insulator (e.g.,silicon-on-insulator) structure and a semiconductor-on-insulatorstructure having superior radio frequency device performance.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Semiconductor wafers are generally prepared from a single crystal ingot(e.g., a silicon ingot) which is trimmed and ground to have one or moreflats or notches for proper orientation of the wafer in subsequentprocedures. The ingot is then sliced into individual wafers. Whilereference will be made herein to semiconductor wafers constructed fromsilicon, other materials may be used to prepare semiconductor wafers,such as germanium, silicon carbide, silicon germanium, gallium arsenide,and other alloys of Group III and Group V elements, such as galliumnitride or indium phosphide, or alloys of Group II and Group VIelements, such as cadmium sulfide or zinc oxide.

Semiconductor wafers (e.g., silicon wafers) may be utilized in thepreparation of composite layer structures. A composite layer structure(e.g., a semiconductor-on-insulator, and more specifically, asilicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure) generally comprises a handle waferor layer, a device layer, and an insulating (i.e., dielectric) film(typically an oxide layer) between the handle layer and the devicelayer. Generally, the device layer is between 0.01 and 20 micrometersthick, such as between 0.05 and 20 micrometers thick. Thick film devicelayers may have a device layer thickness between about 1.5 micrometersand about 20 micrometers. Thin film device layers may have a thicknessbetween about 0.01 micrometer and about 0.20 micrometer. In general,composite layer structures, such as silicon-on-insulator (SOI),silicon-on-sapphire (SOS), and silicon-on-quartz, are produced byplacing two wafers in intimate contact, thereby initiating bonding byvan der Waal's forces, hydrogen bonding, or both, followed by a thermaltreatment to strengthen the bond. The anneal may convert the terminalsilanol groups to siloxane bonds between the two interfaces, therebystrengthening the bond.

After thermal anneal, the bonded structure undergoes further processingto remove a substantial portion of the donor wafer to achieve layertransfer. For example, wafer thinning techniques, e.g., etching orgrinding, may be used, often referred to as bond and etch SOI (i.e.,BESOI) or bond and grind SOI (i.e., BGSOI), wherein a silicon wafer isbound to the handle wafer and then slowly etched away until only a thinlayer of silicon on the handle wafer remains. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No.5,189,500, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by referenceas if set forth in its entirety. This method is time-consuming andcostly, wastes one of the substrates and generally does not havesuitable thickness uniformity for layers thinner than a few microns.

Another common method of achieving layer transfer utilizes a hydrogenimplant followed by thermally induced layer splitting. Particles (atomsor ionized atoms, e.g., hydrogen atoms or a combination of hydrogen andhelium atoms) are implanted at a specified depth beneath the frontsurface of the donor wafer. The implanted particles form a cleave planein the donor wafer at the specified depth at which they were implanted.The surface of the donor wafer is cleaned to remove organic compounds orother contaminants, such as boron compounds and any other particulatematter, deposited on the wafer during the implantation process.

The front surface of the donor wafer is then bonded to a handle wafer toform a bonded wafer through a hydrophilic bonding process. Prior tobonding, the donor wafer and/or handle wafer are activated by exposingthe surfaces of the wafers to plasma containing, for example, oxygen ornitrogen. Exposure to the plasma modifies the structure of the surfacesin a process often referred to as surface activation, which activationprocess renders the surfaces of one or both of the donor water andhandle wafer hydrophilic. The surfaces of the wafers can be additionallychemically activated by a wet treatment, such as an SC1 clean. The wettreatment and the plasma activation may occur in either order, or thewafers may be subjected to only one treatment. The wafers are thenpressed together, and a bond is formed there between. This bond isrelatively weak, due to van der Waal's forces, and must be strengthenedbefore further processing can occur.

In some processes, the hydrophilic bond between the donor wafer andhandle wafer (i.e., a bonded wafer) is strengthened by heating orannealing the bonded wafer pair. In some processes, wafer bonding mayoccur at low temperatures, such as between approximately 300° C. and500° C. Lower bonding temperatures reduce the bridging layers ofadsorbed water vapor on the surfaces, and increase the density ofhydrogen bonds between silanol groups on the surfaces of each wafer. Insome processes, wafer bonding may occur at high temperatures, such asbetween approximately 800° C. and 1100° C. Higher elevated temperaturescause the formation of covalent bonds, e.g., converting silanol hydrogenbonds to covalent siloxane bonds, between the adjoining surfaces of thedonor wafer and the handle wafer, thus solidifying the bond between thedonor wafer and the handle wafer. Concurrently with the heating orannealing of the bonded wafer, the particles earlier implanted in thedonor wafer weaken the cleave plane.

A portion of the donor wafer is then separated (i.e., cleaved) along thecleave plane from the bonded wafer to form the SOI wafer. Cleaving maybe carried out by placing the bonded wafer in a fixture in whichmechanical force is applied perpendicular to the opposing sides of thebonded wafer in order to pull a portion of the donor wafer apart fromthe bonded wafer. According to some methods, suction cups are utilizedto apply the mechanical force. The separation of the portion of thedonor wafer is initiated by applying a mechanical force at the edge ofthe bonded wafer at the cleave plane in order to initiate propagation ofa crack along the cleave plane. The mechanical force applied by thesuction cups then pulls the portion of the donor wafer from the bondedwafer, thus forming an SOI wafer.

According to other methods, the bonded pair may instead be subjected toan elevated temperature over a period of time to separate the portion ofthe donor wafer from the bonded wafer. Exposure to the elevatedtemperature causes initiation and propagation of cracks along the cleaveplane, thus separating a portion of the donor wafer. The crack forms dueto the formation of voids from the implanted ions, which grow by Ostwaldripening. The voids are filled with hydrogen and helium. The voidsbecome platelets. The pressurized gases in the platelets propagatemicro-cavities and micro-cracks, which weaken the silicon on the implantplane. If the anneal is stopped at the proper time, the weakened bondedwafer may be cleaved by a mechanical process. However, if the thermaltreatment is continued for a longer duration and/or at a highertemperature, the micro-crack propagation reaches the level where allcracks merge along the cleave plane, thus separating a portion of thedonor wafer. This method allows for better uniformity of the transferredlayer and allows recycle of the donor wafer, but typically requiresheating the implanted and bonded pair to temperatures approaching 500°C.

The use of high resistivity semiconductor-on-insulator (e.g.,silicon-on-insulator) wafers for RF related devices such as antennaswitches offers benefits over traditional substrates in terms of costand integration. To reduce parasitic power loss and minimize harmonicdistortion inherent when using conductive substrates for high frequencyapplications it is necessary, but not sufficient, to use substratewafers with a high resistivity. Accordingly, the resistivity of thehandle wafer for an RF device is generally greater than about 500Ohm-cm. With reference now to FIG. 1 , a silicon on insulator structure2 comprises a very high resistivity silicon wafer 4, a buried oxide(BOX) layer 6, and a silicon device layer 10. Such a substrate is proneto formation of high conductivity charge inversion or accumulationlayers 12 at the BOX/handle interface causing generation of freecarriers (electrons or holes), which reduce the effective resistivity ofthe substrate and give rise to parasitic power losses and devicenonlinearity when the devices are operated at RF frequencies. Theseinversion/accumulation layers can be due to BOX fixed charge, oxidetrapped charge, interface trapped charge, and even DC bias applied tothe devices themselves.

A method is required therefore to suppress the formation of any inducedinversion or accumulation layers so that the high resistivity of thesubstrate is maintained even in the very near surface region. It isknown that trap rich layers between the high resistivity handlesubstrates and the buried oxide (BOX) may improve the performance of RFdevices fabricated using SOI wafers. A number of methods have beensuggested to form these high interface trap layers. For example, withreference now to FIG. 2 , one of the method of creating asemiconductor-on-insulator 20 (e.g., a silicon-on-insulator, or SOI)with a trap rich layer for RF device applications is based on depositingan undoped polycrystalline silicon film 28 on a silicon substrate havinghigh resistivity 22 and then forming a stack of oxide 24 and top siliconlayer 26 on it. A polycrystalline silicon layer 28 acts as a highdefectivity layer between the silicon substrate 22 and the buried oxidelayer 24. See FIG. 2 , which depicts a polycrystalline silicon film foruse as a trap rich layer 28 between a high resistivity substrate 22 andthe buried oxide layer 24 in a silicon-on-insulator structure 20. Analternative method is the implantation of heavy ions to create a nearsurface damage layer. Devices, such as radiofrequency devices, are builtin the top silicon layer 26.

It has been shown in academic studies that the polycrystalline siliconlayer between of the oxide and substrate improves the device isolation,decreases transmission line losses and reduces harmonic distortions.See, for example: H. S. Gamble, et al. “Low-loss CPW lines on surfacestabilized high resistivity silicon,” Microwave Guided Wave Lett.,9(10), pp. 395-397, 1999; D. Lederer, R. Lobet and J.-P. Raskin,“Enhanced high resistivity SOI wafers for RF applications,” IEEE Intl.SOI Conf., pp. 46-47, 2004; D. Lederer and J.-P. Raskin, “New substratepassivation method dedicated to high resistivity SOI wafer fabricationwith increased substrate resistivity,” IEEE Electron Device Letters,vol. 26, no. 11, pp. 805-807, 2005; D. Lederer, B. Aspar, C. Laghaé andJ.-P. Raskin, “Performance of RF passive structures and SOI MOSFETstransferred on a passivated HR SOI substrate,” IEEE International SOIConference, pp. 29-30, 2006; and Daniel C. Kerr et al. “Identificationof RF harmonic distortion on Si substrates and its reduction using atrap-rich layer”, Silicon Monolithic Integrated Circuits in RF Systems,2008. SiRF 2008 (IEEE Topical Meeting), pp. 151-154, 2008.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, the present invention is directed to a multilayer structurecomprising: a single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate comprisingtwo major, generally parallel surfaces, one of which is a front surfaceof the single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate and the other ofwhich is a back surface of the single crystal silicon wafer handlesubstrate, a circumferential edge joining the front and back surfaces ofthe single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate, and a central planeof the single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate between the frontand back surfaces of the single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate,wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate has a bulkresistivity of at least about 5000 ohm-cm, an interstitial oxygenconcentration of less than about 1×10¹⁶ atoms/cm³, and a nitrogenconcentration of at least about 1×10¹³ atoms/cm³; a trap rich layer ininterfacial contact with the front surface of the single crystal siliconwafer handle substrate; a dielectric layer in interfacial contact withthe trap rich layer; and a single crystal semiconductor device layer ininterfacial contact with the dielectric layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a depiction of a silicon-on-insulator wafer comprising a highresistivity substrate and a buried oxide layer.

FIG. 2 is a depiction of a silicon-on-insulator wafer according to theprior art, the SOI wafer comprising a polycrystalline silicon trap richlayer between a high resistivity substrate and a buried oxide layer.

FIG. 3 is a graph depicting harmonic distortion as a function ofsubstrate resistivity in HR-SOI structures employing a trap rich layer.

FIG. 4 is a graph depicting resistivity depth profiles of float zonegrown handle wafer and Czochralski grown handle wafer after SOIprocessing employing a trap rich layer.

FIG. 5 is a graph depicting average resistivity of the first 90 micronsbelow the BOX/handle interface of float zone grown handle wafer afterSOI processing employing trap rich layer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S) OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, a method is provided and a structureis provided for producing semiconductor-on-insulator (e.g.,silicon-on-insulator) structures that enables superior radio frequency(RF) device performance, device stability, and device fabricationmanufacturability. The present invention integrates a high resistivity,e.g. a very-high resistivity or a ultra-high resistivity, float zone(FZ) silicon base wafer (handle wafer) and a trap rich layer into asemiconductor-on-insulator (e.g., silicon-on-insulator) structure.

Radio frequency (RF) chip designs significantly benefit from highersubstrate resistivity levels. Improvements in the quality factor ofpassive components, such as inductors and capacitors, reducedattenuation in transmission lines, and substrate electrical isolationbetween the integrated digital, RF, and analog components are realizedwith higher resistivity silicon substrates. The industry standard ishandle substrate resistivity above 1,000 ohm-cm, with yet higherresistivity preferred. Integration of the high resistivity substrateinto semiconductor-on-insulator (e.g., silicon-on-insulator) structure(HRSOI) further improves RF capability by providing better deviceisolation, reduced conductive coupling to the substrate wafer, and lowerjunction capacitance.

Growth of ultra-high resistivity Czochralski (CZ) crystals toresistivity values greater than 7,500 ohm-cm presents severe challenges.Since the concentration of added electrically active dopant issignificantly reduced, additional emphasis must be placed on the controlof dopants, such as boron and phosphorous, introduced from all the rawmaterials and components used in the CZ crystal puller. These materialsand components include the polysilicon source materials and the quartzcrucible. In addition, the extremely low dopant level in the melt makescontrol of dopant mass transfer to, and then through, the boundary layerat the melt-solid interface important for achieving acceptable radialresistivity variation. Another key challenge in the growth of higherresistivity Czochralski silicon ingot is to control the behavior of theinterstitial oxygen incorporated during crystal growth. The interstitialoxygen concentration in Czochralski-grown silicon is usually greaterthan 5×10¹⁷ atoms/cm³ (10 PPMA new-ASTM), such as up to about 1×10¹⁸atoms/cm³ (20 PPMA new-ASTM). A source of such interstitial oxygen isthe dissolution of the SiO₂ crucible during crystal growth. In highresistivity CZ silicon, oxygen can be controlled to about 5 PPMA(2.5×10¹⁷ atoms/cm³) range, and lower, such as about 2 PPMA (1×10¹⁷atoms/cm³), about 3 PPMA (1.5×10¹⁷ atoms/cm³), and about 4 PPMA (2×10¹⁷atoms/cm³). Even at low concentrations, interstitial oxygen, however,may agglomerate into electrically active thermal donors dependingstrongly on both interstitial oxygen concentration and annealingtime/temperature in the range of 350-500° C. At agglomeration levelsgreater than 4 oxygen atoms, the thermal donors become electricallyactive, acting as double donors. The formation of such donors maximizesat about 450° C. and thereafter declines, and they may dissociate atanneal treatments above about 550° C., and return to an electricallyinactive state. However, at longer anneal times and higher annealtemperatures, such as in the range of 550° C. to 850° C., so-called newthermal donors may form. Peak new thermal donor formation occurs attemperatures from 750° C. to 800° C. We have recently discovered anotherclass of excess donors in high resistivity silicon subjected to hightemperature heat treatments. An as-yet unidentified, fast diffusingspecies is introduced into the silicon wafer during very high T annealsand quenched in during wafer cooling. On subsequent heating into the450° C.-650° C. range, these species rapidly complex with theinterstitial oxygen in the wafer to form electrically active “excessdonors”. These excess donors will dissociate if heated above about 1050°C.-1100° C. The oxygen thermal double donors, new donors, and excessthermal donors contribute electrons to conduction which can, dependingon the number of donors generated versus the background carrierconcentration of the wafer, alter the resistivity and type of the wafer.In p-type silicon, thermal donors increase the resistivity of the waferuntil the thermal donor concentration exceeds the p-type carrierconcentration, at which point the wafer will convert to n-type. Furtherthermal donor generation will then cause the n-type wafer to have lowerand lower resistivity. Changes in resistivity during or at the end ofthe device fabrication process can disrupt resistivity sensitivemanufacturing processes and cause device performance degradation.Thermal donors can in principle be annihilated by high T anneal (greaterthan about 550° C. for thermal double donors, between about 1050° C. andabout 1100 C° C. for new donors and excess donors), in practice most ofthese donor are formed by the low temperature annealing steps (that mayoccur at a temperature of about 450° C.) that occur late in theintegrated circuit manufacturing flow (in the “back end of line, BEOL),after metallization. Once the metal is deposited, the wafers cannot beheated to T above about 500° C., so none of the thermal donor speciesformed in BEOL can be annihilated. While thermal donors formed in therange of 350-500° C. may be eliminated with a short duration, hightemperature anneal, the presence of excess thermal donors becomesparticularly notable for high resistivity silicon having resistivitygreater than 4000 ohm-cm and significant for material having resistivitygreater than 7500 ohm-cm. In such materials, dopant concentration may be1.8×10¹²/cm³ (p-type) or N_(d)<5×10¹¹/cm³ (n-type). For comparison,excess thermal donor concentrations may be in about 1×10¹²/cm³ excessdonors for materials annealed at temperatures between about 1100-1125°C., falling to low 1×10¹¹/cm³ for materials annealed at about 1000° C.Given the comparable concentrations of dopant materials (e.g., boron,arsenic, phosphorus) and the concentrations of excess thermal donors,material specified to be high resistivity may suffer resistivityvariability, and even apparent switching from p type to n type.

Float Zone (FZ) silicon is an ultra-high purity alternative to CZsilicon. FZ can be manufactured at resistivity levels greater than 5,000ohm-cm, greater than 7,500 ohm-cm, even greater than 10,000 ohm-cm, oreven greater than 20,000 ohm-cm. The float zone process minimizes theintroduction of oxygen into the growing single crystal and canadvantageously minimize oxygen thermal double donor formation, newthermal donor formation and excess thermal donor formation. Theattendant reduction in thermal donor formation minimizes resistivityvariability axially and radially in the ingot and wafers slicedtherefrom. This can both improve device performance and resistivitystability.

The HRSOI wafer is also subject to parasitic conduction at the interfacebetween the buried oxide layer (BOX) and the high resistivity substratethat can extend more than 10 microns into the underlying highresistivity substrate. It is caused by the combination of normal oxidecharges in the BOX and the very low doping concentration of thesubstrate. The parasitic surface conduction 12 effect shown in FIG. 1 ,referred to in the literature as PSC, causes the effective substrateresistivity to be lower and increases RF losses, substratenon-linearity, and cross talk. Placement of a trap rich layer 28 (withreference to FIG. 2 ) between the BOX 24 and the high resistivitysubstrate 22 prevents the parasitic conduction layer 12 (with referenceto FIG. 1 ) from forming by the traps capturing free carriers attractedto the BOX/substrate interface, suppressing the formation of anaccumulation or inversion layer. When combining the trap rich layer witha stable Float Zone silicon handle wafer having resistivity greater than5,000 ohm-cm, greater than 7,500 ohm-cm, even greater than 10,000ohm-cm, or even greater than 20,000 ohm-cm, superior RF performance,such as second harmonic distortion or HD2 values of better than −90 dB,can be achieved as shown in FIG. 3 .

The use of a Float Zone handle wafer is intended to solve multipleproblems; 1) FZ provides a manufacturable crystal growth path toresistivity target levels greater than 5,000 ohm-cm, greater than 7,500ohm-cm, even greater than 10,000 ohm-cm, or even greater than 20,000ohm-cm, which enables improved RF performance when coupled with traprigh layer, and 2) FZ has oxygen content below the limits of detection,which reduces and may eliminate electrically active thermal donor andexcess thermal donor formation and as a result prevents resistivityshifts that can degrade RF electrical performance and interfere withprocessing of wafers in the device fabrication line. Float Zone siliconis grown by vertical zone melting/refinement of a high puritypolycrystalline rod. A seed crystal is placed at one end of the rod toinitiate monocrystalline growth. The process avoids the use of acontainment vessel which greatly reduces the introduction of impuritiesincluding oxygen. Eliminating oxygen effects such as thermal donorformation is essential in ultra-high resistivity silicon. Nitrogen istypically intentionally added during FZ growth to control point defectformation and to improve its mechanical strength. The doping level anddopant type of ultra-high resistivity FZ depend on the purity of thepolycrystalline source rod.

I. Float Zone Handle Wafer

According to the present invention, a wafer sliced from a single crystalsilicon ingot grown by the float zone method is integrated as a highresistivity handle structure into a semiconductor-on-insulator (e.g.,silicon-on-insulator) structure 20 having the structure shown in FIG. 2. That is, the SOI structure 20 comprises a float zone high resistivityhandle structure 22, e.g., a wafer, a trap rich layer 28, a dielectriclayer 24, and a device layer 26.

The substrates for use in the present invention include a semiconductorhandle substrate, e.g., a single crystal semiconductor handle wafer anda semiconductor donor substrate, e.g., a single crystal semiconductordonor wafer. The semiconductor device layer 26 in asemiconductor-on-insulator composite structure 20 is derived from thesingle crystal semiconductor donor wafer. The semiconductor device layer26 may be transferred onto the semiconductor handle substrate 22 bywafer thinning techniques such as etching a semiconductor donorsubstrate or by cleaving a semiconductor donor substrate comprising adamage plane.

In general, the single crystal semiconductor handle wafer and singlecrystal semiconductor donor wafer comprise two major, generally parallelsurfaces. One of the parallel surfaces is a front surface of thesubstrate, and the other parallel surface is a back surface of thesubstrate. The substrates comprise a circumferential edge joining thefront and back surfaces, a bulk region between the front and backsurfaces, and a central plane between the front and back surfaces. Thesubstrates additionally comprise an imaginary central axis perpendicularto the central plane and a radial length that extends from the centralaxis to the circumferential edge. In addition, because semiconductorsubstrates, e.g., silicon wafers, typically have some total thicknessvariation (TTV), warp, and bow, the midpoint between every point on thefront surface and every point on the back surface may not precisely fallwithin a plane. As a practical matter, however, the TTV, warp, and boware typically so slight that to a close approximation the midpoints canbe said to fall within an imaginary central plane which is approximatelyequidistant between the front and back surfaces.

Prior to any operation as described herein, the front surface and theback surface of the substrate may be substantially identical. A surfaceis referred to as a “front surface” or a “back surface” merely forconvenience and generally to distinguish the surface upon which theoperations of method of the present invention are performed. In thecontext of the present invention, a “front surface” of a single crystalsemiconductor handle substrate, e.g., a single crystal silicon handlewafer, refers to the major surface of the substrate that becomes aninterior surface of the bonded structure. It is upon this front surfacethat the trap rich layer is formed. Accordingly, a “back surface” of asingle crystal semiconductor handle substrate, e.g., a handle wafer,refers to the major surface that becomes an exterior surface of thebonded structure. Similarly, a “front surface” of a single crystalsemiconductor donor substrate, e.g., a single crystal silicon donorwafer, refers to the major surface of the single crystal semiconductordonor substrate that becomes an interior surface of the bondedstructure. The front surface of a single crystal semiconductor donorsubstrate often comprises a dielectric layer, e.g., a silicon dioxidelayer, which forms a portion of or all of the buried oxide (BOX) layerin the final structure. A “back surface” of a single crystalsemiconductor donor substrate, e.g., a single crystal silicon donorwafer, refers to the major surface that becomes an exterior surface ofthe bonded structure. Upon completion of conventional bonding and waferthinning steps, the single crystal semiconductor donor substrate formsthe semiconductor device layer of the semiconductor-on-insulator (e.g.,silicon-on-insulator) composite structure.

Handle wafers comprises a material, e.g., silicon, derived from an ingotgrown by the float zone method. The single crystal silicon handle wafersliced from an ingot grown by the float zone method typically has anominal diameter of at least about 20 mm, at least about 50 mm, at leastabout 100 mm, at least about 150 mm, at least about 200 mm, such asabout 150 mm, or about 200 mm. Surface tension limitations during thegrowth process commonly result in diameters not greater than 250 mm, orabout 200 mm. Handle wafer thicknesses may vary from between about 100micrometers and about 5000 micrometers, such as between about 100micrometers and about 1500 micrometers, such as between about 250micrometers to about 1500 micrometers, such as between about 300micrometers and about 1000 micrometers, suitably within the range ofabout 500 micrometers to about 1000 micrometers. In some specificembodiments, the wafer thickness may be about 725 micrometers. In someembodiments, the wafer thickness may be about 775 micrometers.

In some embodiments, the float zone crystal ingot and single crystalsemiconductor handle substrate sliced therefrom has a bulk resistivityof a bulk resistivity of at least about 5,000 ohm-cm, at least about7,500 ohm-cm, such as at least about 10,000 ohm-cm, at least about15,000 ohm-cm, or at least about 20,000 ohm-cm. In some embodiments, thesingle crystal semiconductor handle substrate has a bulk resistivity ofless than about 100,000 ohm-cm. High resistivity wafers may compriseelectrically active dopants, such as boron (p type), gallium (p type),aluminum (p type), indium (p type), phosphorus (n type), antimony (ntype), and arsenic (n type), in generally very low concentrations, e.g.,less than 1×10¹² atoms/cm³, or even less than 1×10¹¹ atoms/cm³. Methodsfor preparing high resistivity wafers from float zone single crystalsilicon ingots are known in the art, and such high resistivity wafersmay be obtained from commercial suppliers, such as GlobalWafers Co.,Ltd., Taiwan.

Silicon handle wafers derived from float zone grown ingots can be morereliably targeted to ultra-high resistivity values with minimum tomaximum variation of around ˜2×. For example, a two sided min-maxspecification for wafer resistivity can be accepted such as10,000-20,000 ohm-cm or tighter, unlike in UHR Cz wafers where the specsare generally one sided, such as >=7500 ohm-cm. Tolerances of +/−30-50%around a target value may be acceptable. This will enable the end userto have not only improved RF electrical performance level (as shown inFIG. 3 ), but it will also be more predictable and less variable whencompared with Czochralski grown silicon. The fundamental reason for thissolution is that float zone grown silicon handle wafers have an oxygenconcentration below the detectable limit and thereby avoids the thermaldonor formation and excess thermal donor formation that causesvariability in ultra-high resistivity Czochralski grown silicon. In someembodiments, the float zone grown silicon handle wafers have an oxygenlevel that is below the detection limits, such as less than about2.5×10¹⁶ atoms/cm³ (0.5 PPMA, new ASTM standard), less than about 2×10¹⁶atoms/cm³ (0.4 PPMA, new ASTM standard), less than about 1×10¹⁶atoms/cm³ (0.2 PPMA, new ASTM standard), or even less than about 1×10¹⁵atoms/cm³ (0.02 PPMA, new ASTM standard), of metrology methods andeliminates the presence of oxygen thermal donors and excess donorsformed in Czochralski grown silicon wafers, which comprise a detectableoxygen concentration. In some embodiments, the silicon handle wafershave an excess thermal donor concentration of less than 1×10¹¹donors/cm³, or even less than 5×10¹⁰ donors/cm³. In some embodiments,the oxygen concentration is so low a double donor thermal donorconcentration, new thermal donor concentration, and/or an excess thermaldonor concentration is below detectable limits, and a firstapproximation would be that the concentration of such donors may be atleast an order of magnitude less than the p-type acceptor or n-typedonor concentrations. Stated another way, the concentration of any ofthe double donor thermal donor concentration, new thermal donorconcentration, and/or an excess thermal donor concentration or the sumof the double donor thermal donor concentration, new thermal donorconcentration, and/or an excess thermal donor concentration is at leastan order of magnitude less than the p-type acceptor or n-type donorconcentrations, i.e., less than 1/10 of the concentration of p-type orn-type dopants. In CZ the thermal donors and excess can be lower than,equal to, or higher than the background doping concentration, dependenton the oxygen concentration and the thermal cycle details. The thermaldouble donor concentration in CZ Si will keep increasing with annealtime at ˜450° C. to quite large values. The concentration willultimately saturate at some value that depends on the Oi. For large Oi˜15 nppma, the saturation concentration can be ˜1×10¹⁶/cm³ or more. Thesaturation (maximum) TDD concentration will decrease with decreasing Oi,but I don't have data on how low it would be at 2-5 nppma. It will bemuch larger than the actual dopant concentrations involved in HR Si. Thelow donor concentration in FZ wafers reduce variability of RFperformance, reduce the impact of resistivity variability on devicefabrication processes that are sensitive to wafer resistivity(electrostatic chucking), and eliminate the sensitivity to new thermaldonor formation which is another source of variability in ultra-highresistivity/low oxygen Czochralski grown silicon wafers.

Additionally, the spreading resistance profiles (SRP) of Czochralskigrown silicon handle wafers are rarely flat over the first few tens ofmicrons below the BOX/handle interface, e.g., after a 450° C. anneal.The SRPs of Czochralski grown silicon handle wafers are often influencedby the formation of TDs and excess donor causing the profiles to varysignificantly as shown in FIG. 4 . The SRPs of the float zone grownsilicon handle wafers, however, are very flat and show the completeabsence of thermal donors and excess donors in 450° C. and 600° C.testing. See FIG. 4 . On the graph in FIG. 4 , the line with diamonds(♦) is the resistivity per depth of float zone handle wafer before the450° C. donor generating anneal (DGA) anneal, and the line with X is theresistivity per depth of float zone handle wafer after the 450° C. DGAanneal. Further, on the graph, the line with the square (▪) is theresistivity per depth of Czochralski grown handle wafer p-type after the450° C. DGA anneal. Finally, on the graph, the line with the triangle(▴) is the resistivity per depth of Czochralski grown handle wafern-type after the 450° C. DGA anneal. See also FIG. 5 , depicting averageresistivity of the first 90 microns below the BOX/handle interface offloat zone grown handle wafer after SOI processing employing trap richlayer, the wafers having greater than 5000 ohm-cm resistivity andgreater than 10,000 ohm-cm resistivity. The profiles are very flat andshow the complete absence of thermal donors in 450° C. and 600° C.testing.

Since float zone grown silicon handle wafers have oxygen belowdetectable limits, such wafers may be more prone to slip in thermalprocesses. However, nitrogen may be added during growth of the floatzone crystal to control point defect formation and add strength againstslip. Specialized doping techniques like core doping, pill doping, gasdoping with nitrogen or ammonia gas may be used to incorporate a uniformconcentration of impurity. In some embodiments, the nitrogenconcentration in the float zone grown silicon handle wafers may be atleast about 1×10¹³ atoms/cm³, such as at least about 1×10¹⁴ atoms/cm³.In some embodiments, the nitrogen concentration in the float zone grownsilicon handle wafers may be less than about 3×10¹⁵ atoms/cm³, or lessthan about 1×10¹⁵ atoms/cm³, or less than about 7×10¹⁴ atoms/cm³. Ademonstration of nitrogen-doped float zone grown silicon handle wafersin SOI manufacturing line showed acceptable slip performance nearly onequal to Czochralski grown silicon handle wafers.

In this regard, float zone grown silicon handle wafers and Czochralskigrown silicon handle wafers were subjected to oxidation at 800° C.,followed by a 2 hour anneal cycle at 1100° C., followed by slipinspection. The result was that no slip was found on either wafer type.Accordingly, a nitrogen doped float zone handle wafer can survive thethermal cycles associated with trap rich layer deposition and subsequentSOI wafer fabrication with no slip. In another furnace push test, afurnace was heated to 1000° C., and float zone grown silicon handlewafers and Czochralski grown silicon handle wafers were rapidly pushedthrough the furnace. Both wafer types behaved similarly under this sliptest.

In some embodiments, the front surface, back surface, or both the frontand the back surface of the single crystal semiconductor handlesubstrate may be subjected to a process, e.g., an oxidation process, tothereby grow a dielectric layer, such as a semiconductor oxide layer, asemiconductor nitride layer, or a semiconductor oxynitride layer. Insome embodiments, the dielectric layer comprises silicon dioxide, whichmay be formed by oxidizing the front surface of the silicon handlesubstrate. This may be accomplished by thermal oxidation (in which someportion of the deposited semiconductor material film will be consumed)and/or CVD oxide deposition and/or atomic layer deposition. In someembodiments, the semiconductor handle substrate may be thermallyoxidized in a furnace such as an ASM A400. The temperature may rangefrom 750° C. to 1100° C. in an oxidizing ambient. The oxidizing ambientatmosphere can be a mixture of inert gas, such as Ar or N₂, and O₂. Theoxygen content may vary from 1 to 10 percent, or higher. In someembodiments, the oxidizing ambient atmosphere may be up to 100% oxygen(a “dry oxidation”). In some embodiments, the oxidizing ambientatmosphere may oxygen and ammonia, which is suitable for depositingsilicon oxynitride. In some embodiments, the ambient atmosphere maycomprise a mixture of inert gas, such as Ar or N₂, and oxidizing gases,such as O₂ and water vapor (a “wet oxidation”). In some embodiments, theambient atmosphere may comprise a mixture of inert gas, such as Ar orN₂, and oxidizing gas, such as O₂ and water vapor (a “wet oxidation”),and a nitriding gas, such as ammonia. In some embodiments, the ambientatmosphere may comprise a mixture of inert gas, such as Ar or N₂, and anitriding gas, such as ammonia, which is suitable for depositing siliconnitride. In an exemplary embodiment, semiconductor handle wafers may beloaded into a vertical furnace, such as an A400. The temperature isramped to the oxidizing temperature with a mixture of N₂ and O₂. At thedesired temperature water vapor is introduced into the gas flow. Afterthe desired oxide thickness has been obtained, the water vapor and O₂are turned off and the furnace temperature is reduced and wafers areunloaded from the furnace. The oxidation layer on the front surface, theback surface, or both may be between about 100 angstroms and about100,000 angstroms, between about 100 angstroms and about 10,000angstroms, between about 100 angstroms and about 1000 angstroms, such asbetween about 100 angstroms and about 700 angstroms, or between about100 angstroms and about 500 angstroms, or between about 100 angstromsand about 250 angstroms.

In some embodiments, the oxidation layer is relatively thin, such asbetween about 5 angstroms and about 25 angstroms, such as between about10 angstroms and about 15 angstroms. Thin oxide layers can be obtainedon both sides of a semiconductor wafer by exposure to a standardcleaning solution, such as an SC1/SC2 cleaning solution. In someembodiments, the SC1 solution comprises 5 parts deioinized water, 1 partaqueous NH₄OH (ammonium hydroxide, 29% by weight of NH₃), and 1 part ofaqueous H₂O₂ (hydrogen peroxide, 30%). In some embodiments, the handlesubstrate may be oxidized by exposure to an aqueous solution comprisingan oxidizing agent, such as an SC2 solution. In some embodiments, theSC2 solution comprises 5 parts deioinized water, 1 part aqueous HCl(hydrochloric acid, 39% by weight), and 1 part of aqueous H₂O₂ (hydrogenperoxide, 30%).

II. Trap Rich Layers

According to the method of the present invention, a trap rich layercomprising a polycrystalline or amorphous semiconductor material isdeposited onto the exposed front surface of the single crystalsemiconductor handle wafer. Semiconductor material suitable for use informing a trap rich layer in a semiconductor-on-insulator device issuitably capable of forming a highly defective layer in the fabricateddevice. Such materials include polycrystalline semiconductor materialsand amorphous semiconductor materials. Materials that may bepolycrystalline or amorphous include silicon (Si), silicon germanium(SiGe), silicon doped with carbon (SiC), and germanium (Ge).Polycrystalline silicon denotes a material comprising small siliconcrystals having random crystal orientations. Polycrystalline silicongrains may be as small in size as about 20 nanometers. According to themethod of the present invention, the smaller the crystal grain size ofpolycrystalline silicon deposited the higher the defectivity in the traprich layer. Amorphous silicon comprises a non-crystalline allotropicform of silicon, which lacks short range and long range order. Silicongrains having crystallinity over no more than about 10 nanometers mayalso be considered essentially amorphous. Silicon germanium comprises analloy of silicon germanium in any molar ratio of silicon and germanium.Silicon doped with carbon comprises a compound of silicon and carbon,which may vary in molar ratio of silicon and carbon. The resistivity ofthe polycrystalline silicon trap rich layer may be at least 100 Ohm-cm,at least about 500 Ohm-cm, at least about 1000 Ohm-cm, or even at leastabout 3000 Ohm-cm, such as between about 100 Ohm-cm and about 100,000Ohm-cm, or between about 500 Ohm-cm and about 100,000 Ohm-cm, or betweenabout 1000 Ohm-cm and about 100,000 Ohm-cm, or between about 500 Ohm-cmand about 10,000 Ohm-cm, or between about 750 Ohm-cm and about 10,000Ohm-cm, between about 1000 Ohm-cm and about 10,000 Ohm-cm, between about2000 Ohm-cm and about 10,000 Ohm-cm, between about 3000 Ohm-cm and about10,000 Ohm-cm, or between about 3000 Ohm cm and about 8,000 Ohm-cm.

The material for deposition onto the, optionally oxidized, front surfaceof the single crystal semiconductor handle wafer may be deposited bymeans known in the art. For example, the semiconductor material may bedeposited using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), physicalvapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), low pressurechemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), plasma enhanced chemical vapordeposition (PECVD), or molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Silicon precursorsfor LPCVD or PECVD include methyl silane, silicon tetrahydride (silane),trisilane, disilane, pentasilane, neopentasilane, tetrasilane,dichlorosilane (SiH₂Cl₂), silicon tetrachloride (SiCl₄), among others.For example, polycrystalline silicon may be deposited onto the surfaceoxidation layer by pyrolyzing silane (SiH₄) in a temperature rangebetween about 550° C. and about 690° C., such as between about 580° C.and about 650° C. The chamber pressure may range from about 70 to about400 mTorr. Amorphous silicon may be deposited by plasma enhancedchemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at temperatures generally rangingbetween about 75° C. and about 300° C. Silicon germanium, particularlyamorphous silicon germanium, may be deposited at temperatures up toabout 300° C. by chemical vapor deposition by including organogermaniumcompounds, such as isobutylgermane, alkylgermanium trichlorides, anddimethylaminogermanium trichloride. Silicon doped with carbon may bedeposited by thermal plasma chemical vapor deposition in epitaxialreactors using precursors such as silicon tetrachloride and methane.Suitable carbon precursors for CVD or PECVD include methylsilane,methane, ethane, ethylene, among others. For LPCVD deposition,methylsilane is a particularly preferred precursor since it providesboth carbon and silicon. For PECVD deposition, the preferred precursorsinclude silane and methane. In some embodiments, the silicon layer maycomprise a carbon concentration of at least about 1% on an atomic basis,such as between about 1% on an atomic basis and about 10% on an atomicbasis.

In some embodiments, the deposition of the semiconductor material of thetrap rich layer may be temporarily interrupted, at least once andpreferably more than once, in order to prepare multiple layers of traprich material. The interim surface of the semiconductor material filmmay be exposed to inert, oxidizing, nitridizing, or passivatingatmosphere to thereby poison or passivate the deposited semiconductormaterial. Stated another way, the method of the present invention maycomprise deposition of a multilayer of trap rich semiconductor materialby a cycling process in which semiconductor material is deposited,deposition is interrupted, the layer of semiconductor material ispoisoned or passivated, and the next layer of semiconductor material isdeposited. In some embodiments, a multilayer may be formed comprisingone passivated semiconductor layer and one additional semiconductorlayer may be deposited to form the trap rich layer. In some embodiments,the multilayer comprises more than one passivated semiconductor layerand one additional semiconductor layer in the trap rich layer. Bydepositing the trap rich layer in this way, a multilayer comprising, forexample, one or more passivated layers, or two or more passivatedlayers, such as three or more passivated layers, such as at least fourpassivated layers, or between four and about 100 passivated layers, orbetween four and about 60 passivated layers, or between four and about50 passivated layers, or between four and about 25 passivated layers, orbetween six and about 20 passivated layers of semiconductor material isdeposited onto the handle substrate. A large number of semiconductorlayers may be deposited limited in part by throughput demands and by thesmallest practical layer thickness that may be deposited, which iscurrently about 20 nanometers. Each of these layers of semiconductormaterial is poisoned or passivated such that during the high temperatureprocesses of semiconductor-on-insulator fabrication, crystal graingrowth in each layer of the multilayer is limited by the thickness ofthe passivated multilayer rather than by the thickness of the overalltrap rich layer as in prior art processes. In some embodiments, thesemiconductor layers may be passivated by exposing the firstsemiconductor layer to an atmosphere comprising a nitrogen-containinggas, such as nitrogen, nitrous oxide, ammonia (NH₃), nitrogen plasma,and any combination thereof. In this regard, the atmosphere in which thesemiconductor layer is deposited may comprise a nitrogen-containing gas,such as nitrogen, and termination of the deposition process followed byexposure to the gas may be sufficient to form a thin passivation layerover the semiconductor layer. In some embodiments, the chamber may beevacuated of the deposition gas and purged with the nitrogen containinggas in order to effect passivation of the previously depositedsemiconductor layer. Exposure to nitrogen may nitride the depositedsemiconductor layer, for example, resulting in the formation of a thinlayer of silicon nitride of just a few angstroms thickness. Alternativepassivation methods may be used. For example, the semiconductor layermay be passivated by exposing the first semiconductor layer to anatmosphere comprising an oxygen containing gas, such as oxygen, ozone,water vapor, or any combination thereof. According to these embodiments,a thin layer of semiconductor oxide may form on the semiconductor layer,the semiconductor oxide being sufficient to passivate the layer. Forexample, a thin layer of silicon oxide may be formed between each layerof the multilayer. The oxide layer may be only a few angstroms thick,such as between about 1 angstrom and about 20 angstroms, or betweenabout 1 angstrom and about 10 angstroms. In some embodiments, air, whichcomprises both nitrogen and oxygen, may be used as the passivated gas.In some embodiments, the semiconductor layers may be passivated byexposing the first semiconductor layer to a liquid selected from thegroup consisting of water, peroxide (e.g. hydrogen peroxide solution),or SC1 solution (NH₃:H₂O₂:H₂O).

The overall thickness of the trap rich layer may be between about 0.3micrometers and about 5 micrometers, such as between about 0.3micrometers and about 3 micrometers, such as between about 0.3micrometers and about 2 micrometers or between about 2 micrometers andabout 3 micrometers.

In some embodiments, deposition of the trap rich layer is followed byformation of a dielectric layer on the surface of the trap rich layer.In some embodiments, the single semiconductor handle substrate (e.g.,single crystal silicon handle substrate) is oxidized to form asemiconductor oxide (e.g., a silicon dioxide) film on the trap richlayer. In some embodiments, the trap rich layer, e.g., polycrystallinefilm, may be thermally oxidized (in which some portion of the depositedsemiconductor material film will be consumed) or the semiconductor oxide(e.g., silicon dioxide) film may be grown by CVD oxide deposition. Theoxide layer (e.g., silicon dioxide layer) in contact with thepolycrystalline or amorphous trap rich layer (e.g., a polycrystalline oramorphous silicon trap rich layer) may have a thickness between about0.1 micrometer and about 10 micrometers, such as between about 0.1micrometers and about 4 micrometers, such as between about 0.1micrometers and about 2 micrometers, or between about 0.1 micrometersand about 1 micrometer. The oxidation process additionally oxidizes theback surface of the single crystal semiconductor handle wafer, whichadvantageously reduces warp and bow potentially caused by the differentcoefficients of thermal expansion of silicon and silicon dioxide.

III. Preparation of the Bonded Structure

The single crystal semiconductor handle wafer, such as a single crystalsilicon handle wafer, prepared according to the float zone method isnext bonded to a single crystal semiconductor donor wafer, which isprepared according to conventional layer transfer methods. In preferredembodiments, the single crystal semiconductor donor wafer comprises amaterial selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide,silicon germanium, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, indium phosphide,indium gallium arsenide, germanium, and combinations thereof. Donorwafers may be sliced from an ingot prepared by the float zone or theCzochralski method. Wafer thicknesses may vary from between about 100micrometers and about 5000 micrometers, such as between about 100micrometers and about 1500 micrometers, such as between about 250micrometers to about 1500 micrometers, such as between about 300micrometers and about 1000 micrometers, suitably within the range ofabout 500 micrometers to about 1000 micrometers. In some specificembodiments, the wafer thickness may be about 725 micrometers. In someembodiments, the wafer thickness may be about 775 micrometers. Dependingupon the desired properties of the final integrated circuit device, thesingle crystal semiconductor (e.g., silicon) donor wafer may compriseelectrically active dopants, such as boron (p type), gallium (p type),aluminum (p type), indium (p type), phosphorus (n type), antimony (ntype), and arsenic (n type). The resistivity of the single crystalsemiconductor (e.g., silicon) donor wafer may range from 1 to 100Ohm-cm, 1 to 50 Ohm-cm, or from 5 to 25 Ohm-cm. The single crystalsemiconductor donor wafer may be subjected to standard process stepsincluding oxidation, implant, and post implant cleaning. Accordingly, asingle crystal semiconductor donor wafer that has been etched andpolished and optionally oxidized is subjected to ion implantation toform a damage layer in the donor substrate.

In some embodiments, the single crystal semiconductor donor wafercomprises a dielectric layer. The dielectric layer may comprise one ormore insulating layers formed on the front surface of the single crystalsemiconductor donor wafer. The insulating layer may comprise a materialselected from the group consisting of silicon dioxide, silicon nitride,and silicon oxynitride. In some embodiments, the insulating layer maycomprise a material selected from the group consisting of Al₂O₃, AlN, ora combination thereof. In some embodiments, the dielectric layercomprises multiple layers of insulating material, although otherconfigurations are within the scope of this invention. Each insulatinglayer may comprise a material selected from the group consisting ofsilicon dioxide, silicon nitride, and siliconoxynitride. In someembodiments, the dielectric layer comprises three layers of insulatingmaterial, in the order of silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, and silicondioxide. Each insulating layer may have a thickness of at least about 10nanometer thick, such as between about 10 nanometers and about 10,000nanometers, between about 10 nanometers and about 5,000 nanometers,between 50 nanometers and about 400 nanometers, or between about 100nanometers and about 400 nanometers, such as about 50 nanometers, 100nanometers, or 200 nanometers.

Ion implantation may be carried out in a commercially availableinstrument, such as an Applied Materials Quantum II, Quantum H, aQuantum LEAP, or a Quantum X. Implanted ions include He, H, H₂, orcombinations thereof. Ion implantation is carried out as a density andduration sufficient to form a damage layer in the semiconductor donorsubstrate. Implant density may range from about 10¹² ions/cm² to about10¹⁷ ions/cm², such as from about 10¹⁴ ions/cm² to about 10¹⁷ ions/cm²,such as from about 10¹⁵ ions/cm² to about 10¹⁷ ions/cm², or from about10¹⁶ ions/cm² to about 10¹⁷ ions/cm². Implant energies may range fromabout 1 keV to about 3,000 keV, such as from about 10 keV to about 3,000keV. Implant energies may range from about 1 keV to about 3,000 keV,such as from about 5 keV to about 1,000 keV, or from about 5 keV toabout 200 keV, or from 5 keV to about 100 keV, or from 5 keV to about 80keV. The depth of implantation determines the thickness of the singlecrystal semiconductor device layer transferred to the handle in the SOIprocess. The ions may be implanted to a depth between about 100angstroms and about 30,000 angstroms, such as between about 200angstroms and about 20,000 angstroms, such as between about 2000angstroms and about 15,000 angstroms, or between about 15,000 angstromsand about 30,000 angstroms. In some embodiments it may be desirable tosubject the single crystal semiconductor donor wafers, e.g., singlecrystal silicon donor wafers, to a clean after the implant. In somepreferred embodiments, the clean could include a Piranha clean followedby a DI water rinse and SC1/SC2 cleans.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the single crystalsemiconductor donor wafer having an ion implant region therein formed byHe⁺, H⁺, H₂ ⁺, and any combination thereof ion implant is annealed at atemperature sufficient to form a thermally activated cleave plane in thesingle crystal semiconductor donor substrate. An example of a suitabletool might be a simple Box furnace, such as a Blue M model. In somepreferred embodiments, the ion implanted single crystal semiconductordonor substrate is annealed at a temperature of from about 200° C. toabout 350° C., from about 225° C. to about 325° C., preferably about300° C. Thermal annealing may occur for a duration of from about 2 hoursto about 10 hours, such as from about 2 hours to about 8 hours. Thermalannealing within these temperatures ranges is sufficient to form athermally activated cleave plane. After the thermal anneal to activatethe cleave plane, the single crystal semiconductor donor substratesurface is optionally cleaned.

In some embodiments, the ion-implanted and optionally cleaned andoptionally annealed single crystal semiconductor donor wafer issubjected to oxygen plasma and/or nitrogen plasma surface activation. Insome embodiments, the oxygen plasma surface activation tool is acommercially available tool, such as those available from EV Group, suchas EVG®810LT Low Temp Plasma Activation System. The ion-implanted andoptionally cleaned single crystal semiconductor donor wafer is loadedinto the chamber. The chamber is evacuated and backfilled with O₂ to apressure less than atmospheric to thereby create the plasma. The singlecrystal semiconductor donor wafer is exposed to this plasma for thedesired time, which may range from about 1 second to about 120 seconds.Oxygen plasma surface oxidation is performed in order to render thefront surface of the single crystal semiconductor donor substratehydrophilic and amenable to bonding to a single crystal semiconductorhandle substrate prepared according to the method described above.

The hydrophilic front surface of the single crystal semiconductor donorwafer and the front surface of single crystal semiconductor handle waferare next brought into intimate contact to thereby form a bondedstructure. According to the methods of the present invention, each ofthe front surface of the single crystal semiconductor donor wafer andthe front surface of single crystal semiconductor handle wafer maycomprise one or more insulating layers. The insulating layers form thedielectric layer of the bonded structure.

Since the mechanical bond may be relatively weak, the bonded structuremay be further annealed to solidify the bond between the single crystalsemiconductor donor wafer and the single crystal semiconductor handlewafer. In some embodiments of the present invention, the bondedstructure is annealed at a temperature sufficient to form a thermallyactivated cleave plane in the single crystal semiconductor donorsubstrate. An example of a suitable tool might be a simple Box furnace,such as a Blue M model. In some embodiments, the bonded structure isannealed at a temperature of from about 200° C. to about 400° C., fromabout 300° C. to about 400° C., such as from about 350° C. to about 400°C.

In some embodiments, the anneal may occur at relatively high pressures,such as between about 0.5 MPa and about 200 MPa, such as between about0.5 MPa and about 100 MPa, such as between about 0.5 MPa and about 50MPa, or between about 0.5 MPa and about 10 MPa, or between about 0.5 MPaand about 5 MPa. In conventional bonding methods, the temperature islikely limited by thermal cleaving. This occurs when the pressure of theplatelets at the implant plane exceeds the external isostatic pressure.Accordingly, conventional anneal may be limited to bonding temperaturesbetween about 350° C. and about 400° C. because of thermal cleave. Afterimplantation and bond, the wafers are weakly held together. But the gapbetween the wafers is sufficient to prevent gas penetration or escape.Weak bonds can be strengthened by heat treatments, but the cavitiesformed during implant are filled with gas. While heating, the gas insidethe cavities pressurizes. It is estimated that the pressure may reach0.2-1 GPa (Cherkashin et al., J. Appl. Phys. 118, 245301 (2015)),depending on the dosage. When the pressure exceeds a critical value, thelayer delaminates. This is referred to as a thermal cleave. It preventshigher temperature or longer time in the anneal. According to someembodiments of the present invention, bonding occurs at elevatedpressures, e.g., between about 0.5 MPa and about 200 MPa, such asbetween about 0.5 MPa and about 100 MPa, such as between about 0.5 MPaand about 50 MPa, or between about 0.5 MPa and about 10 MPa, or betweenabout 0.5 MPa and about 5 MPa, which thereby enables bonding at elevatedtemperatures. In some embodiments, the bonded structure is annealed at atemperature of from about 300° C. to about 700° C., from about 400° C.to about 600° C., such as between about 400° C. and about 450° C., oreven between about 450° C. and about 600° C., or between about 350° C.and about 450° C. Increasing the thermal budget will have a positiveeffect on the bond strength. Thermal annealing may occur for a durationof from about 0.5 hours to about 10 hour, such as between about 0.5hours and about 3 hours, preferably a duration of about 2 hours. Thermalannealing within these temperatures ranges is sufficient to form athermally activated cleave plane. In conventional bonding anneals, theedge of both the handle wafer and donor wafer may become far apart dueto the roll off. In this area, there is no layer transfer. It is calledthe terrace. Pressurized bonding is expected to reduce this terrace,extending the SOI layer further out towards the edge. The mechanism isbased on trapped pockets of air being compressed and “zippering”outwards. After the thermal anneal to activate the cleave plane, thebonded structure may be cleaved.

After the thermal anneal, the bond between the single crystalsemiconductor donor wafer and the single crystal semiconductor handlewafer is strong enough to initiate layer transfer via cleaving thebonded structure at the cleave plane. Cleaving may occur according totechniques known in the art. In some embodiments, the bonded structuremay be placed in a conventional cleave station affixed to stationarysuction cups on one side and affixed by additional suction cups on ahinged arm on the other side. A crack is initiated near the suction cupattachment and the movable arm pivots about the hinge cleaving the waferapart. Cleaving removes a portion of the semiconductor donor wafer,thereby leaving a single crystal semiconductor device layer 26,preferably a silicon device layer, on the semiconductor-on-insulatorcomposite structure 20. See FIG. 2 .

After cleaving, the cleaved structure may be subjected to a hightemperature anneal in order to further strengthen the bond between thetransferred device layer 26 and the single crystal semiconductor handlewafer 20. An example of a suitable tool might be a vertical furnace,such as an ASM A400. In some preferred embodiments, the bonded structureis annealed at a temperature of from about 1000° C. to about 1200° C.,preferably at about 1000° C. Thermal annealing may occur for a durationof from about 0.5 hours to about 8 hours, preferably a duration of about4 hours. Thermal annealing within these temperatures ranges issufficient to strengthen the bond between the transferred device layerand the single crystal semiconductor handle substrate.

After the cleave and high temperature anneal, the bonded structure maybe subjected to a cleaning process designed to remove thin thermal oxideand clean particulates from the surface. In some embodiments, the singlecrystal semiconductor device layer may be brought to the desiredthickness and smoothness by subjecting to a vapor phase HCl etch processin a horizontal flow single wafer epitaxial reactor using H₂ as acarrier gas. In some embodiments, the semiconductor device layer 26 mayhave a thickness between about 20 nanometers and about 3 micrometers,such as between about 20 nanometers and about 2 micrometers, such asbetween about 20 nanometers and about 1.5 micrometers or between about1.5 micrometers and about 3 micrometers.

In some embodiments, an epitaxial layer may be deposited on thetransferred single crystal semiconductor device layer 26. A depositedepitaxial layer may comprise substantially the same electricalcharacteristics as the underlying single crystal semiconductor devicelayer 26. Alternatively, the epitaxial layer may comprise differentelectrical characteristics as the underlying single crystalsemiconductor device layer 26. An epitaxial layer may comprise amaterial selected from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide,silicon germanium, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, indium phosphide,indium gallium arsenide, germanium, and combinations thereof. Dependingupon the desired properties of the final integrated circuit device, theepitaxial layer may comprise electrically active dopants, such as boron(p type), gallium (p type), aluminum (p type), indium (p type),phosphorus (n type), antimony (n type), and arsenic (n type). Theresistivity of the epitaxial layer may range from 1 to 1050 Ohm-cm, 1 to50 Ohm-cm, typically, from 5 to 25 Ohm-cm. In some embodiments, theepitaxial layer may have a thickness between about 20 nanometers andabout 3 micrometers, such as between about 20 nanometers and about 2micrometers, such as between about 20 nanometers and about 1.5micrometers or between about 1.5 micrometers and about 3 micrometers.

The finished SOI wafer comprises the single crystal semiconductor handlewafer 22, the trap rich layer 28, the dielectric layer 24, and thesemiconductor device layer 26, may then be subjected to end of linemetrology inspections and cleaned a final time using typical SC1-SC2process.

When introducing elements of the present disclosure or the embodiment(s)thereof, the articles “a”, “an”, “the” and “said” are intended to meanthat there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising”,“including” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean thatthere may be additional elements other than the listed elements.

As various changes could be made in the above without departing from thescope of the disclosure, it is intended that all matter contained in theabove description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A multilayer structure comprising: a singlecrystal silicon wafer handle substrate comprising two major, generallyparallel surfaces, one of which is a front surface of the single crystalsilicon wafer handle substrate and the other of which is a back surfaceof the single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate, a circumferentialedge joining the front and back surfaces of the single crystal siliconwafer handle substrate, and a central plane of the single crystalsilicon wafer handle substrate between the front and back surfaces ofthe single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate, wherein the singlecrystal silicon wafer handle substrate has a bulk resistivity of atleast about 5000 ohm-cm, an interstitial oxygen concentration of lessthan about 1×10¹⁶ atoms/cm³, and a nitrogen concentration of at leastabout 1×10¹³ atoms/cm³ and further wherein the single crystal siliconwafer handle substrate comprises a p-type dopant at a concentration ofless than 1×10¹² atoms/cm³ and further wherein a concentration of oxygenthermal double donors, new donors, and excess thermal donors, or anycombination thereof is at least an order of magnitude less than theconcentration of the p-type dopant; a trap rich layer in interfacialcontact with the front surface of the single crystal silicon waferhandle substrate; a dielectric layer in interfacial contact with thetrap rich layer; and a single crystal semiconductor device layer ininterfacial contact with the dielectric layer.
 2. The multilayerstructure of claim 1 wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handlesubstrate comprises a silicon wafer sliced from a single crystal siliconingot grown by a float zone method and further wherein the silicon waferhas a diameter of at least about 150 mm.
 3. The multilayer structure ofclaim 1 wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handle substratecomprises a silicon wafer sliced from a single crystal silicon ingotgrown by a float zone method and further wherein the silicon wafer has adiameter of at least about 200 mm.
 4. The multilayer structure of claim1 wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate has a bulkresistivity of at least about 7,500 ohm-cm.
 5. The multilayer structureof claim 1 wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate hasa bulk resistivity of at least about 10,000 ohm-cm.
 6. The multilayerstructure of claim 1 wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handlesubstrate has a bulk resistivity of at least about 15,000 ohm-cm.
 7. Themultilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the single crystal silicon waferhandle substrate has a bulk resistivity of at least about 20,000 ohm-cm.8. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the single crystalsilicon wafer handle substrate has a bulk resistivity of less than about100,000 ohm-cm.
 9. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein thesingle crystal silicon wafer handle substrate has an excess thermaldonor concentration of less than 1×10¹¹ donors/cm³.
 10. The multilayerstructure of claim 1 wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handlesubstrate has an excess thermal donor concentration of less than 5×10¹⁰donors/cm³.
 11. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the singlecrystal silicon wafer handle substrate comprises the p-type dopant at aconcentration of less than 1×10¹¹ atoms/cm³ and further wherein theconcentration of oxygen thermal double donors, new donors, and excessthermal donors, or any combination thereof is at least an order ofmagnitude less than the concentration of the p-type dopant.
 12. Themultilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the single crystal silicon waferhandle substrate has an interstitial oxygen concentration of less thanabout 1×10¹⁵ atoms/cm³.
 13. The multilayer structure of claim 1 whereinthe single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate has the nitrogenconcentration of at least about 1×10¹⁴ atoms/cm³.
 14. The multilayerstructure of claim 1 wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handlesubstrate has the nitrogen concentration of less than about 3×10¹⁵atoms/cm³.
 15. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the singlecrystal silicon wafer handle substrate has the nitrogen concentration ofless than about 1×10¹⁵ atoms/cm³.
 16. The multilayer structure of claim1 wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate has thenitrogen concentration of less than about 7×10¹⁴ atoms/cm³.
 17. Themultilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the single crystal silicon waferhandle substrate has the nitrogen concentration between about 5×10¹⁴atoms/cm³ and about 2×10¹⁵ atoms/cm³.
 18. The multilayer structure ofclaim 1 wherein the trap rich layer comprises one or morepolycrystalline semiconductor layers, wherein each of the one or morepolycrystalline semiconductor layers comprises a material selected froma group consisting of silicon, SiGe, SiC, and Ge.
 19. The multilayerstructure of claim 1 wherein the trap rich layer comprises one or moreamorphous semiconductor layers, wherein each of the one or moreamorphous semiconductor layers comprises a material selected from agroup consisting of silicon, SiGe, SiC, and Ge.
 20. The multilayerstructure of claim 1 wherein the trap rich layer has a resistivitygreater than about 1000 Ohm-cm.
 21. The multilayer structure of claim 1wherein the trap rich layer has a resistivity greater than about 3000Ohm-cm.
 22. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the trap richlayer has a resistivity between about 2000 Ohm-cm and about 10,000Ohm-cm.
 23. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the trap richlayer has a resistivity between about 3000 Ohm-cm and about 10,000Ohm-cm.
 24. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the trap richlayer has a resistivity between about 3000 Ohm-cm and about 5,000Ohm-cm.
 25. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein the trap richlayer has a thickness between about 0.1 micrometer and about 50micrometers.
 26. The multilayer structure of claim 1 wherein thedielectric layer comprises a material selected from among silicondioxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, hafnium oxide, titaniumoxide, zirconium oxide, lanthanum oxide, barium oxide, aluminum oxide,aluminum nitride, and any combination thereof.
 27. A multilayerstructure comprising: a single crystal silicon wafer handle substratecomprising two major, generally parallel surfaces, one of which is afront surface of the single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate andthe other of which is a back surface of the single crystal silicon waferhandle substrate, a circumferential edge joining the front and backsurfaces of the single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate, and acentral plane of the single crystal silicon wafer handle substratebetween the front and back surfaces of the single crystal silicon waferhandle substrate, wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handlesubstrate has a bulk resistivity of at least about 5000 ohm-cm, aninterstitial oxygen concentration of less than about 1×10¹⁶ atoms/cm³,and a nitrogen concentration of at least about 1×10¹³ atoms/cm³ andfurther wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handle substratecomprises an n-type dopant at a concentration of less than 1×10¹²atoms/cm³ and further wherein a concentration of oxygen thermal doubledonors, new donors, and excess thermal donors, or any combinationthereof is at least an order of magnitude less than the concentration ofthe n-type dopant; a trap rich layer in interfacial contact with thefront surface of the single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate; adielectric layer in interfacial contact with the trap rich layer; and asingle crystal semiconductor device layer in interfacial contact withthe dielectric layer.
 28. The multilayer structure of claim 27 whereinthe single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate comprises a siliconwafer sliced from a single crystal silicon ingot grown by a float zonemethod and further wherein the silicon wafer has a diameter of at leastabout 150 mm.
 29. The multilayer structure of claim 27 wherein thesingle crystal silicon wafer handle substrate comprises a silicon wafersliced from a single crystal silicon ingot grown by a float zone methodand further wherein the silicon wafer has a diameter of at least about200 mm.
 30. The multilayer structure of claim 27 wherein the singlecrystal silicon wafer handle substrate has a bulk resistivity of atleast about 7,500 ohm-cm.
 31. The multilayer structure of claim 27wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate has a bulkresistivity of at least about 10,000 ohm-cm.
 32. The multilayerstructure of claim 27 wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handlesubstrate has a bulk resistivity of at least about 15,000 ohm-cm. 33.The multilayer structure of claim 27 wherein the single crystal siliconwafer handle substrate has a bulk resistivity of at least about 20,000ohm-cm.
 34. The multilayer structure of claim 27 wherein the singlecrystal silicon wafer handle substrate has a bulk resistivity of lessthan about 100,000 ohm-cm.
 35. The multilayer structure of claim 27wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate has an excessthermal donor concentration of less than 1×10¹¹ donors/cm³.
 36. Themultilayer structure of claim 27 wherein the single crystal siliconwafer handle substrate has the excess thermal donor concentration ofless than 5×10¹⁰ donors/cm³.
 37. The multilayer structure of claim 27wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate comprises then-type dopant at a concentration of less than 1×10¹¹ atoms/cm³ andfurther wherein the concentration of oxygen thermal double donors, newdonors, and excess thermal donors, or any combination thereof is atleast an order of magnitude less than the concentration of the n-typedopant.
 38. The multilayer structure of claim 27 wherein the singlecrystal silicon wafer handle substrate has the interstitial oxygenconcentration of less than about 1×10¹⁵ atoms/cm³.
 39. The multilayerstructure of claim 27 wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handlesubstrate has the nitrogen concentration of at least about 1×10¹⁴atoms/cm³.
 40. The multilayer structure of claim 27 wherein the singlecrystal silicon wafer handle substrate has the nitrogen concentration ofless than about 3×10¹⁵ atoms/cm³.
 41. The multilayer structure of claim27 wherein the single crystal silicon wafer handle substrate has thenitrogen concentration of less than about 1×10¹⁵ atoms/cm³.
 42. Themultilayer structure of claim 27 wherein the single crystal siliconwafer handle substrate has the nitrogen concentration of less than about7×10¹⁴ atoms/cm³.
 43. The multilayer structure of claim 27 wherein thesingle crystal silicon wafer handle substrate has a nitrogenconcentration between about 5×10¹⁴ atoms/cm3 and about 2×10¹⁵ atoms/cm³.44. The multilayer structure of claim 27 wherein the trap rich layercomprises one or more polycrystalline semiconductor layers, wherein eachof the one or more polycrystalline semiconductor layers comprises amaterial selected from a group consisting of silicon, SiGe, SiC, and Ge.45. The multilayer structure of claim 27 wherein the trap rich layercomprises one or more amorphous semiconductor layers, wherein each ofthe one or more amorphous semiconductor layers comprises a materialselected from a group consisting of silicon, SiGe, SiC, and Ge.
 46. Themultilayer structure of claim 27 wherein the trap rich layer has aresistivity greater than about 1000 Ohm-cm.
 47. The multilayer structureof claim 27 wherein the trap rich layer has a resistivity greater thanabout 3000 Ohm-cm.
 48. The multilayer structure of claim 27 wherein thetrap rich layer has a resistivity between about 2000 Ohm-cm and about10,000 Ohm-cm.
 49. The multilayer structure of claim 27 wherein the traprich layer has a resistivity between about 3000 Ohm-cm and about 10,000Ohm-cm.
 50. The multilayer structure of claim 27 wherein the trap richlayer has a resistivity between about 3000 Ohm-cm and about 5,000Ohm-cm.
 51. The multilayer structure of claim 27 wherein the trap richlayer has a thickness between about 0.1 micrometer and about 50micrometers.
 52. The multilayer structure of claim 27 wherein thedielectric layer comprises a material selected from among silicondioxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, hafnium oxide, titaniumoxide, zirconium oxide, lanthanum oxide, barium oxide, aluminum oxide,aluminum nitride, and any combination thereof.